Created Anew In Christ: New Wine, New Wineskin
Introduction
In today’s first reading, Paul makes, or more probably uses, a liturgical hymn that describes the primacy of Christ as the Lord of all. This is precisely the core of our faith, that Christ is the first-born of creation, and, as the risen Lord, the head of all humanity, the principle of authority and vitality, the source of all life and growth. He restores people and all things from alienation.
We are created anew in Christ, the Lord and the new beginning of all. With Christ, we have to renounce all compromises with the old in us and live in the new spirit of Christ. How well have we accepted the renewal that Vatican II asks of us?
1 Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the Body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the Blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2b) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song. R.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends. R.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name. R.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations. R.
Alleluia: John 8:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.'”
Commentary
The celebrated hymn of Colossians, read today, was in all likelihood taken from the early Christian liturgy and incorporated by Paul in his epistle. It centers on the primacy of Christ in three distinct ways. He first of all has a primacy in all of creation. He stands with God from all eternity and is the blueprint in and through whom all things are brought into being. All things are created through him and for him. In the order of redemption, he is the head of the body, which is the church. We are all members of that one body, which draws its life from him who is the head. Finally, he is the first to rise from the dead and therefore is the prototype of what we are called to be. Through the blood of his cross he has reconciled the whole of creation, not solely humankind, to God.
This is the new wine about which Jesus speaks in the gospel. It cannot be placed in the old wineskins of the former covenant and its precepts.
We are a new creation with a new and unique relationship to God in Christ. This gives us a newfound liberty to be inspired by the human concerns that are present to us each day. While fasting is never excluded, its fixed times and season are not pivotal to the new life in God.
The hymn speaks to us of cosmic redemption. The whole of creation has been redeemed. By the blood of the cross all things have been reconciled. Concern for our environment and the preservation of the beauty and order that surround us are deeply Christian concerns.
Christ, then, is central to us who share in his redemption. He is also the guide and moderator of our daily life as the head of the body. Through him also we are related to the whole of creation as part of the universe that has been touched by redemption.
Blessing
We must ask ourselves from time to time how faithful we are to the gospel. It is easy to become fossilized. The gospel wants us to stay young and ever new. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!